209 



Peepatiation of wooden labels for plants. — Wooden labels 

 for plants, to be inserted in the ground, may, it is said, be preserved for 

 an indefinite time b^^ lirst dipping- tbem in a solution of one part copper 

 vitriol and twenty-four parts water, and subsequently immersing in 

 lime water, or a solution of gypsum. 



Preservation of beet leaves for fodder. — It is well known 

 tbat in France tlie beet is cultivated on a large scale, nminly for the 

 prei)aratiou of beet sugar, and that the leaves are used very largely as 

 food for cattle. A difficulty has hitherto existed in reference to this 

 latter application, on account of the readiness with which the knives be- 

 come decomposed, and tlie impossibility of keeping them fresh for any 

 considerable length of time. We are now informed that this has been 

 overcome by M.^Mehay, who subjects the leaves to the action of dilute 

 hydrochloric acid, by means of which, after undergoing a special treat- 

 ment, they can be stacked away in large quantities and kept indefinitely 

 for future use. The application of the acid employed, so far from injur- 

 ing these leaves as food, seems to impart to tliem special alimentary 

 peculiarities, seen in the production of an improved <iuabty of butter. 

 Several veterinary surgeons have certified, as the result of a critical ex- 

 amination of the experiments, that the food gave rise to no disturbance 

 of the digestive system, and that in every respect the new preparation 

 was to be considered a success. 



FEEDiNa UNBROKEN GRAIN TO HOGS. — Dr. Lebmann has lately com- 

 municated to the Agricultural Association of Saxony the results of some 

 experiments of feeding unbroken grain to hogs, the animal to which 

 the test was applied beinga three-year-old pig, of an English breed, which 

 had previously been fed, for a year and three-quarters, exclusively with 

 rye bran. Four pounds of bran were given to it every twenty-four hours ; 

 and on each of the first two days of the experiment an addition was 

 made of one pound of the grains experimented ujjon, the rations being 

 furnished in only a slightly moist condition. The first of the undigested 

 grains were passed off at the lapse of from twenty-four to twenty-five 

 hours, the last of them appearing at various intervals ; as, at the end of 

 sixty-two hours for oats, seventy-two hours for barley, seventy-eight 

 hours for rye, and the same for peas. In reference to the quan- 

 tity of undigested and unaltered grains found in the excrement, it is 

 stated th^t in one hundred pounds there appeared unchanged and entire 

 50.6 of oats, 51.8 of barley, 49. i of rye, and 49.4 of peas. From these 

 results it will be seen that in general only half of the entire grain is 

 used in the process of digestion, and that every one who furnishes food 

 in this umnner has to supply twice as much as is actually necessary, at, 

 of course, double the necessary cost. It is, therefore, very evident that 

 a due regard to economy makes it expedient to reduce the food to a 

 more or less fine condition before it is given to such animals. 



Feeding nettles to laying hens. — The Vienna Agricultural and 

 Forest Journal states that hens fed in the winter with chopped and 

 boiled nettle leaves, or with the seeds, and kept in a warm i)lace, will 

 continue to lay during the entire winter. The experiment was first sug- 

 gested by noticing the eagerness with which both domestic and wild 

 fowl devour the nettle leaves and seeds whenever the opportunity is 

 alfbrded. This proclivity is believed to be the reason why, with the 

 enormous yield of seeds on the part of the nettle, comparatively so few 

 plants spring. It is stated also that in Denmark the seeds and leaves 

 of the nettle are fed very carefully to horses, after having been collected, 



